Tariffs have become President Donald Trump's favored economic move, prompting a lot of folks to ask what it is they even do.

Retail sales — a grand total of how much consumers spent in this economy — fell 0.9% from December to January. What happened?

Retail sales in the United States declined 0.9 percent in January, the first drop in sales since August. Specialty stores and ...

Consumer spending took a sharp hit in January, with retail sales plunging far more than expected, raising concerns about the ...